OOTB 328 – 22nd January 2009
Out Of The Bedroom Review 22/01/09
Al Young.
Al Young opens the night with a very rhythmic guitar riff, he entwines interesting vocal melodies and some unusual chord progressions, creating an edgy sound which captures everyone’s attention. His three song slot is one of the best I’ve heard from him, definitely a good way to start the evening.
Eddie
Eddie really caught my attention tonight with his enchanting combination of acoustic rock and beautiful Scottish melodies. His story-like feel and great use of the fret board definitely made an impression on me. I hope to hear him again soon.
Douglas (debut)
Douglas’s toe tapping rhythm kick started his slot. I was particularly impressed by the way he used simple chords to such great effect. This catchy sound with well sung, upbeat rock melodies hit a nice contrast with the second song, which was softer and included some really nice imagery – “tapping on the windows”. He maintains his rocky style but now with a hint of soul. I hope to hear Douglas again after his very impressive debut.
Andrew (debut)
Andrew is another out of the bedroom debut. He shifts the genre slightly with his rhythmic slot, which encourages a lot of swaying in the audience. He used some nice lyrics. “I wove in the fabric” and created a nice folky, country, bold but yet relaxed feel. He seemed very confident and his performance was definitely one to remember due to his individual style, which I felt, captured an Elvis-like sound and brought it into the 21st century.
CBQ
CBQ changed the sound again with his melancholic but sweet voice. “ I glanced at my watch, it was time”, his gentle voice flowed through the audience as everyone contently followed his story. He used a good bit of repetition then crept up the fret board creating an ambient sound, which I particularly liked. It would be great to hear from him again, maybe, even with some harmonies.
Cameron
Cameron’s mellow acoustic sound and very nice combination of individual chord progressions really stuck with me tonight. He had some nice leaps in the melody, which made them very appealing. I liked his style, rock with a hint of jazz, but yet somehow it sounded like there was a bit of Muse in there too. Voices on the rooftops definitely did not seem out of sequence. A few very nice songs indeed.
Nelson
I’m loving you Nelson. “You were taking me to your secret place”. His bouncy rhythms and lovely catchy melodies really made me smile this evening. His use of word painting with a slight nursery rhyme feel was a nice contrast to the first song which was dark and mysterious, but yet left everyone engaged, as his spoken words crept through everyone’s minds and brought them all into dreams of their own. If only more conversations had such an interesting French undertone and wonderful clichés.
Indescribable. Looking forward to hearing him again.
Bobby
Bobby must have been the most entertaining performer of the evening. His brilliant use of humour and local dialect captivated everyone in the room. “buyin stolen goods in portabelly” “sleepin wi your brothers wife” and “spraying slagans on the walls” were only a few of some of very funny lyrics this comedy songwriter has to offer. His well-played guitar, confident vocals and good use of pauses really help build the atmosphere and made this a very good performance indeed. He left us “pishing in the snow”.
Lindsay
I always seem to lose myself in Lindsay’s words. Enchanting vocals are flowing gently with some nicely picked guitar riffs, followed by some well delivered strumming. She creates a very mystical atmosphere with bouncy bass lines, chromatic ostinatos and extremely unusual chords, but yet her songs are easy to listen to. She makes time stand still. Awesome pinky action. One of my all time favourite songwriters. Though to be honest, she must have some issues with bananas, she talks about them a little too much. Ah well, at least she is veggie and makes a good cup of tea. That’s all that’s important I guess, never mind. Her CD has some good songs and very cool artwork, everyone needs to purchase it, even if they don’t like the tea.
Nicky (written by some random)
I ate bananas while Nicky was playing. “she has one of the most powerful voices on the scene” says Mr Pugh. He’s right! “Rain” was a bit rubbish, especially at the start but the rest weren’t too bad so its fine. I liked the intro for Rain though and I got to hear it twice. Nicky bellows it out with a voice of defying her years, accompanied by trade-mark “made up” chords leaping about crazily, but somehow it all meshes in a beautiful angst-ridden musical journey through, er, the rain.
“between the floorboards” starts quiet then explodes in volume. “nothing seems real when we tie ourselves down” well except bananas. I like this song, I’ll be singing it for weeks. The last song is that one I love with the jaggy chords and the “wooah” bits.
By the way, I only had half a banana, sliced up for breakfast with my muesli.
Jerry (debut)
Jerry keeps a good beat the whole time, he seems relaxed but yet he grasps every word and delivers a very strong sound. “holes in his shoes” , maybe there are, but there definitely aren’t holes in his music. He used some really nice crescendos at the end of the phrases which really show off his tone and how beautiful his voice is. He is another one of tonight’s performers who uses unusual chords to good effect, which I find particularly appealing. A promising Debut to Out of the Bedroom. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will eagerly await his return.
Cameron
“Snow falls down, light descends” Cameron has a really lovely sound and some particularly nice lyrics. “All I think of is you and curious things you do” He has some good contrasts in guitar with a bit of strumming and a little bit of finger picking. His voice carries the song well, this combined with his guitar, keeps everyone interested. His easy listening style is enhanced by his long beautiful signature melodies. I’d love to hear more of this talented musician.
John Fink
John uses a mixture of different chords, which jump around to create a very catchy rhythm. His punchy and rocky style contains busy melodies, which are combined with some nice long powerful notes with lots of charisma. Everyone is left glued to him while he turns out sequence after sequence of very catchy melodies, reminding me bands like INME. He has a very nice individual leap in his melodies, that make his songs very distinctive. I also remember being thoroughly impressed by this songwriter before Christmas, so if he has a Myspace, I know I probably won’t be the only one who’d like to check it out.
Review Written by Nicky Carder 22/01/09